Timothy Board - I Cor. 16:13-14

[0:00] And also we have some pictures of our family. And so Noah, Mr. Frontman, Lead Off Man, Solo guy. So if you'd like a new picture, please pray for our family.

[0:13] Because like Pastor Rambeck said, we have the honor of serving full-time here in the United States with Things to Come Mission as really the point man for TCM. And so our ministry is dedicated to really reigniting a passion for prayer and mission partnership.

[0:27] And part of that means representing our Filipino teams that are actively serving in countries throughout Southeast Asia. And so as you get the promo pack, go ahead and pull out this full-world prayer map here.

[0:42] And it has a picture of all of our missionaries there. And so listen, if you believe in mission, pray for mission. And we gladly welcome you to partner together with us as far as on a monthly basis or one-time gifts, legacy estate gifts or whatever.

[0:56] As far as you prayerfully consider before God, what part, what role God would have you to participate to do in advancing the light of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

[1:11] And so listen, there are men, women, boys and girls among all nations worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia. Many of these people have never heard of the Lord Jesus Christ and never will unless people like you and I that have the gospel take the gospel from where it is to where it is not.

[1:29] And so please pray for them. And so go and hold on to those for a second. And so, yeah, go ahead and start dishing those out. Luke, you know, this right here is the sheet for the sermon. But anyway, we're not starting the sermon just yet.

[1:40] But there's a variety of things. And so and also my family and I, we're raising missionary support. If you look out the out the window right here, we're able to buy a new van. Well, it's it's new for us.

[1:52] Our old one was an 05, 223,000 miles, just about. This one is a 2017 and it has basically 113. And so listen, so we're thankful for the faithfulness of almighty God through his people, providing the means that we need in order to do what God has called us to do because of who he's called us to be in Christ Jesus.

[2:16] And so listen, we we pray that you would pray for for our family. And because, listen, we're in different grace churches all over the country regularly. And this week is a case in point example and everything.

[2:28] It's an honor to be here. But one of my ministry responsibilities with TCM is as far as, OK, going on short term mission trips and everything.

[2:38] So I went solo. If you pull this out here, this news you can use for a prayer insert and the picture of the Southeast Asia Grace Conference, what we call the CGC. If you saw that and if you could see that in color, I put this way.

[2:52] If you do Facebook, just jump on my Facebook page. There's tons of pictures on there. So I was two weeks in the Philippines. I was literally all over the island of Mindanao, crazy busy preaching, teaching the word of God, sometimes multiple times a day.

[3:05] I mean, listen, I even took an hour boat ride across the Serenadei straight to a potentially volcanic island to where they really don't have electricity. Oh, they have generators. We have two grace churches out there.

[3:17] I told my wife, I feel like I'm living in the book of Acts. And she said, well, no shipwrecks and poisonous snake bites, you know, these types of things. I mean, it was just absolutely unreal.

[3:29] Word was getting out through social media and everything as one of our brothers, one of our national leaders there. Really, in many respects, a rock star of sorts. He passed real size Catalina.

[3:39] And he was posting all kinds of stuff on social media and everything. Word was getting out and everybody wanted a piece of the action. And we got 100 grace churches on the island of Negros.

[3:51] And they were saying, come, come. And he says, no, we only have nine days. Nine days. And so it was just absolutely unreal. One situation where we were at is we're at Sovereign Grace Life Church in Bittuan City.

[4:03] And we show up like at seven at night. This is a Tuesday night mission service. It was called A Call to Bold Ambassadors. And the subtitle of the missions night was Emancipating Hearts from the Grip of Falsehood.

[4:18] So when the founding pastor, who was part of our ministry team traveling together, he sent this to me. And he says, what's your scripture reading? What are you going to be preaching on, basically, on Tuesday night?

[4:29] And I saw this. I said, well, I was already leaning towards 2 Corinthians 5. And put it this way. I was fully loaded, ready to go. Preach, pray, sing, or die at a moment's notice.

[4:40] I mean, so I was already leaning that direction. So when I see this, I was like, yes, Lord, I will preach on 2 Corinthians 5. And so I look at this banner at the front wall of the sanctuary in this building owned by a blind guy whose grandpa or dad was Chinese.

[4:53] And it was actually was significant about this guy. His name was Dexter. It was when he came to an understanding of the word of God rightly divided as far as understanding the Bible dispensationally. Is that that was significant in him understanding the clarity of the gospel and getting saved.

[5:08] And so this guy is a man of means. He owns the building as well as owns the hotel that we were staying at that night. But anyway, when I look at this banner, it said 6 o'clock, 6 p.m.

[5:19] And I asked Pastor Noel, the founding pastor, I said, hey, Noel, were we supposed to be here at 6? He says, no, we advertise at 6, so people show up at 7. I was like, all right. So I get up there.

[5:30] I get up there about probably like two-thirds of the way through the service about. It's 8 o'clock. I had asked Noel, how long should I preach? How long should I go for?

[5:41] He says 45 to 60 minutes. This is Tuesday night. All right. I get up there at 8 o'clock. And so there was probably about a quarter of the service left after I was done.

[5:53] And so at the end of the order of service was a banquet catered by one of the church members. I mean, this was absolutely unreal. Just so I'm still real and just from the whole trip.

[6:04] I share these things with you because, listen, the Southeast Asia Grace Conference was at the end of the trip. And so if you've ever considered, maybe you've never thought about, you know, doing something crazy for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[6:20] You know, maybe ministering at the county fair. That's the first step. You know what? Do it. There is nothing like doing that kind of stuff. That will count on it. I guarantee it. That will electrify your spiritual life when you open up your mouth and speak of your faith in Jesus Christ.

[6:35] And so, listen, you read any missionary biography, before they ever get to the field, they're actively serving God in the context of, you know, their home and their family and their church and reaching out with the gospel in their community.

[6:48] That's good. So I'm glad you're doing that, brother. And I, you know, can I get one of those? This is good. This is like Jurassic Park, like, you know, where he scares that little kid, you know, type of thing.

[7:00] And all kinds of secular naturalism in that movie, of course. And, you know, pretty much anywhere I go in the country, you know, people ask me, you look like somebody.

[7:16] Right? You know, here, here, you know, that guy on the movie. Anyway, so I digress. But anyway, July 2025 in Indonesia, we have 70 Grace Churches in the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia.

[7:31] And we just made some strategic decisions at our board meeting yesterday, you know, Friday and Saturday. We're going to be redirecting one of our missionaries. He has a Ph.D. now, and he's in a season of life where he's really looking to be invested in theological education and ministry training.

[7:46] We're going to redirect him to Indonesia. And so we're praying, because we have a seminary there in Minato, where Vernon Darlene Anderson first went 50 years ago. And we're praying that the Lord would use such decisions that affect people's lives to move, by the grace of God and the power of his spirit, move the brethren, move the churches, the ministry there in Indonesia, furrow along what we call the Troas strategy.

[8:13] And it's in your promo pack in here. It talks about that. So that the Indonesians start sending missionaries out. And listen, it's counterintuitive to human wisdom, because we're like, oh, we got so many people here in America or in our country that need Christ.

[8:27] But listen, it's not either or, it's both and. There's nothing like missions that is used of God to stir the hearts of God's people to be all in for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[8:38] And so, you know, if you're interested in going to CGC, I'd love to talk with you. Please pray for our missionaries and just share all these things with you to stir your hearts, to encourage you and everything as we get into the word of God on this being Father's Day.

[8:55] All right. You ready? All right. Let's do it. Let's go ahead and open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. And as you're opening to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, you do have a handout with some of these notes.

[9:10] That is more so for your blessing, edification and encouragement afterwards and everything. But I'm going to be motoring through here because I don't think Pastor Rambeck necessarily gave me 60 minutes to go.

[9:22] But we'll see here. All right. So as you open to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, listen to this. As we endeavor to recover the lost virtues of Christian zeal, a call to courageous fatherhood.

[9:35] One of the greatest problems that our society faces is that we have raised up a generation of guys, not a generation of men, much less a generation of gentlemen. Thus writes Dr. Burke Parsons of Table Talk magazine, speaking of the ancient virtues last fall.

[9:50] He says, those who are held up as role models are not worthy of emulating immature athletes, actors and self-made social media celebrities. In my father's generation, he says, men by and large knew how to work, how to work hard and how to sacrifice.

[10:07] Men stepped up and volunteered to fight for their country. They showed respect to authority figures and to one another, even when they disagreed. In my mother's generation, women were ladies who were generally characterized by their modesty, chastity, humility, honor, courage and diligence.

[10:23] In previous generations, men and women in their late teens were ready to hold down jobs and to be faithful fathers and mothers, loving husbands and respectful wives. Today, extended adolescence has left many with the feeling that they are still too young for such things, even in their 20s and 30s, prompting them to unduly delay meaningful work and family.

[10:42] There are, of course, watch this. He says, there are, of course, contrary examples. But it is undeniable that there has been a significant shift over the past century, past 100 years, in the character of men and women.

[10:57] For all the virtue of previous generations, he says, they failed in an important task. This affects every one of our lives. He says, they failed to teach the ancient virtues that defined generations of faithful men and women.

[11:12] We had diligently woven them into the fabric of society, passing them on from generation to generation. Those virtues are therefore becoming lost.

[11:24] We're increasingly living in a generation not altogether different, very similar to what we see in the book of Judges, where it says that there arose a generation who knew not the Lord nor the works which he had done.

[11:35] And that is the diabolically insidious plot, the agenda of the enemy to wreak havoc upon our souls. Because the totalitarian regime of the flesh, the world, and the devil wants our souls.

[11:51] And the devil knows in this world system, in the demonic forces of evil at work behind this world system, know that if they can take out the point man, Father's Day, hello?

[12:04] If they can take out the point man, they can wreak havoc upon the entire family. It's a generational disconnect that injects poison, the ripple effect from generation to generation.

[12:22] Biblical family life is not peripheral, it's not a distraction, it's not secondary to advancing light of the gospel to the ends of the earth. It is central, dear ones.

[12:35] Because listen, where do you think the next generation of godly men and women, pastors and missionaries and faithful women standing by their men are going to come from?

[12:47] It's not the institution's responsibility. You know, the school, the ministry training school. Ministry training begins right on the grassroots level, literally right where you and I live, dear ones.

[13:00] And he goes on to say this. He says, Fundamentally, watch this.

[13:24] He says, The ancient virtues are lost and rejected because people are lost and wandering aimlessly, and people are lost and wandering because they have outright rejected God and His unchanging authoritative standard that defines and demonstrates what is genuinely virtuous, not just what outwardly signals virtue, according to whichever ideology is currently in vogue.

[13:47] For it is only when we know God, watch this, and His unchanging standard that the ancient virtues will characterize us, not ultimately so we can get back to what things were like in past generations, you know, the golden days, the heyday, Mayberry, these types of things, but so that we will look back to the God of the ancient virtues who gloriously and humbly manifested the full array of virtues and our supreme example and redeemer, Jesus Christ, for His glory alone.

[14:23] Wow. In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, look at this. In verse 13, the Word of God says this. By divine inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, Apostle Paul writing to the church in ancient Corinth, he says this.

[14:37] Watch. I'm reading from the New King James, but honestly, I do prefer the KJV in this text, and I'll talk about that later. It says, watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong, let all that you do be done with love.

[14:50] And so watch this. When we come to the Word of God, we must always remember and never forget that the historical narratives of Holy Scripture, that they transpired in real time and space.

[15:04] What do I mean by that? What's the first verse of the Bible? Speaking of biblical creation, right? The first verse of the Bible, it says, once upon a time. Is that what it says?

[15:15] No, it says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Because you know that when you encounter a story, a fairy tale, a story that begins with, once upon a time, you know you're dealing with a fairy tale situation.

[15:31] This is not real, all right? Because of the paradigm, which we're all immersed in, whether we realize it or not, the paradigm of secularization, it's a big word, but it's an important word that we all need to wrap our hearts and our minds around, or at least understand, like the sons of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12, 32, it says they had an understanding of the time so that they knew what Israel ought to do.

[15:56] Secularization is this paradigm which we're all immersed in this present evil age, in this Romans 1 world, hell-bent on rebellion against the Creator.

[16:07] All right? Secularization is this cultural paradigm which renders our thinking about life being devoid of God and the revelation of Himself in creation, but also Holy Scripture.

[16:29] Think of it as not altogether different than like a church state situation where because of secularization, we're so prone to putting our faith in a Jesus box over here.

[16:43] You familiar with the Jesus box? You know, putting your faith over in a Jesus box. It's similar to one of these New York Times columnists basically said, oh, you Christians, you can have your freedom of worship.

[16:55] Listen, freedom of worship is not the same as First Amendment religious liberty, dear ones. Freedom of worship is this idea, hey, you can have your freedom of worship, you just keep your faith in the pews and in your hearts and in your homes.

[17:11] How dare you ever take what you believe into the public arena? And so that's not biblical Christianity, dear ones, where you have a Jesus box.

[17:23] Am I on right here or no? Okay, we're doing good. All right. So, and so I preached seven years in a 150-year-old church building. I didn't need any of this type of stuff and everything.

[17:34] But anyway, we got the Jesus box over here. That's not biblical Christianity. The word of God speaks to everything in life. And so I bring this up because when we come to 1 Corinthians 16, this is the situation, right?

[17:48] And so the church in ancient Corinth was a city in southern Greece. It was on a narrow strip of land known as an isthmus. And that means they have two seaports.

[18:00] And we got basically dense population, dynamic economy, you know, diversity of culture there. And yes, an immense amount of depravity by sheer virtue of a whole lot of people being there.

[18:13] And so, and it was also the site of one of the most significant athletic competitions in the ancient world, second in popularity to the Olympiad, known as the Isthmian Games.

[18:25] And we see the athletic terminology in the book of 1 Corinthians. And so that should strike close to home for every one of us because listen, I'll tell you right now, and this is countercultural, crazy stuff that people will probably cancel me for, but just take this as a grain of salt.

[18:44] Or maybe not. Just hear me out. Youth sports are an idolatrous, and sports in general, are an idolatrous obsession in America, and they are perhaps the most significant form of competition that is prohibiting young people going into ministry wherever the mighty hand and outstretched arm of Almighty God leads, guides, and directs, dear ones.

[19:09] Count on. Listen, I played baseball in college. My wife played volleyball. But listen, we were going to church a few weeks ago. Absolutely unreal. Big old soccer field.

[19:20] This is 9 o'clock Sunday morning. Absolutely packed. But you make time for what's really important to you, dear ones. And listen, it's not enough to just say, oh, we go to church on Saturday night.

[19:34] That's, you know what? No, no, no, no, no, no. Jesus Christ is to be preeminent in the investment of our time, talent, and treasure, dear ones. And so the heart of it is this, is that this church in ancient Corinth, it was a hotbed of ungodliness, and just everything was just out of whack and everything.

[19:54] But prior to the gospel infiltrating the darkness, it was a type of situation where it's like, why in the world would you go there? Apostle Paul, he's like, wow, what an opportunity for the light of the gospel to transform people's lives.

[20:08] And he went there by the grace of God. And there is a grace gospel church established there, dear ones. And he's writing this epistle to them and every one of us as members of the church, the body of Christ in this age of grace.

[20:23] And watch this. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 13, starts off right here. He says, watch, or as the King James says, watch he. And listen, recovering the lost virtues of Christian zeal, and therefore called to courageous fatherhood, it takes very bold, counter-cultural, and deliberate prioritization of one's spiritual life, and therefore must be demonstrated by the intentional transmission of truth to the next generation.

[20:50] God calls his people to raise the banner of the Lord Jesus Christ in every arena of life. As the Christian, biblical worldview in general, and the gospel of grace in particular, is the salt and light, moral backpressure of truth in this present evil age.

[21:05] Like I said, hell-bent on rebellion against the sovereign creator, king, and merciful redeemer of depraved mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ. And zeal is fervent passion for God's glory.

[21:16] Regardless of your personality, regardless of your temperament, regardless of your gifts, do you have a heart and a fire, a passion, and a zeal for the Lord Jesus Christ?

[21:29] Do you really believe that what you believe is really real, dear ones? And this zeal is a fervent passion for God's glory, and the joy of all people through Jesus Christ, ignited by His Spirit in the hearts of His people.

[21:44] And look at this in verse 13. First off, He says, watch. In other words, vigilance versus, excuse me, oh, is He done yet?

[21:58] Yawning indifference. And listen, every one of us are susceptible to that. And I pray that you loathe that tendency of your flesh to lean in that direction.

[22:16] Just like Apostle Paul says, woe is me. Isaiah said, it says, who will deliver me from this body of death, oh, wretched man that I am. Whereas Isaiah said, woe is me, for I am done, I am a man of unclean lips.

[22:30] I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. It says, watch. In other words, being spiritually vigilant. Turn over to Colossians chapter 2. Let me show you this. Good cross reference here.

[22:41] Always remember that Scripture interprets Scripture. Colossians chapter 2, as far as a good cross reference here. And as you're turning there, as you see on your handout sheet, there's three arenas where God has called His people and His men, especially on this Father's Day, to be spiritually vigilant.

[23:02] First off, at home, in the family, and vigilance in the church, and vigilance in the community. Watch this. In Colossians chapter 2, in verse 8, it says this, beware.

[23:13] In other words, wake up, watch, walk circumspectly. Don't just meander aimlessly and just, you know, your head in the clouds or head in the sand, as it were. He says, beware, lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit.

[23:27] And listen, every one of us as members of the church and body of Christ, we will give an account, a spiritual accounting of our lives before Christ at what's called the Bema, the judgment seat of Christ.

[23:41] And so, in tandem with the pre-tribulational rapture of the church, the body of Christ, the blessed hope, there is going to be a judgment day of reckoning. It's not a heaven or hell situation.

[23:52] That's Revelation 20, great white throne judgment. But every one of us will stand before the Lord. Our lives will flash before our eyes and our lives will do the testifying.

[24:08] Our lives, the testimony of our lives will give an account before the Lord so far as how we faithfully invested, you know, to what degree or another, how we invested the time, talent, and treasure of our lives in eternity as demonstrated through advancing the light of the gospel, through evangelistic outreach and missions engagement to the ends of the earth, advancing the light of the gospel like an athlete.

[24:34] We see this in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and 1 Corinthians chapter 9, but also defending the faith like a soldier as far as apologetics and sound doctrine and these things because it's important for us to understand what we believe and why we believe it and to give an account, give an answer for the skeptical questions of the day in which we live, which is increasingly hostile to the word of God, but also, dear ones, not only as advancing the faith like an athlete and defending it like a soldier, but also cultivating the faith like a farmer.

[25:09] And that's really where the heavy lifting of discipleship comes in. Deuteronomy 6, Psalm 78, Ephesians 6, 4, 1 Thessalonians 2, 11 and 12, life-on-life mentoring, Titus chapter 2, older teaching, younger, dear ones, and never underestimate, regardless of your season of life, how God desires to use you to encourage other people in the Lord Jesus Christ, young and old, by pointing them to Christ and His word.

[25:40] And so look at this. In Colossians 2, in verse 8, Apostle Paul, he is warning the Colossians to take heed to themselves because there are ungodly ideas in this world that if we are taken captive, if we fall prey to these ungodly ideas, they will render our lives spiritually bankrupt, as it were, which will be brought to light at the judgment seat of Christ.

[26:11] In other words, it's possibly saved, but to be taken captive by ideas that are not according to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that will be demonstrated, that doesn't affect the positional reality of who we are in Christ, our positional identity, but as far as our practical reality, every one of us know Christians that they may be saved, but maybe that's about it.

[26:35] Their lives are just really just worthless for the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ because they live ungodly lives. And oftentimes, it's unbeknownst to themselves because, listen, there are so many things that are common to the culture, acceptable to the culture, that are not consistent with the Word of God.

[26:55] And I, listen, listen, I, when I was reeling from my trip the first morning, you know, jet lag, you know, the, or the waves of sleepiness just come hit you at a time of day when it's not time to go to bed.

[27:13] But, like, when I wake up real early in the morning there at Lori's parents' house not too far from O'Hare Airport in Chicago, it's like, okay, that's a good time to journal, write stuff down, reflect, because otherwise life moves so quick we're prone to forgetting things.

[27:32] So I wrote down, you know, just a variety of different things as far as to-do lists, kind of re-entry plan and everything, but also, like, hey, top ten list of reflections, but also there was another list of top ten list of, I called it the dark underbelly of Filipino culture, because, yes, it's largely the human condition, but there's things there not altogether different from things here that are so acceptable and ubiquitous in the culture that it's just like, wait a second, just because, you know, everybody's doing such and such doesn't mean it's consistent with the Word of God, and I'll spare you some of the details and everything, and it's just one of those things where it's like, Lord, what would you have me do?

[28:13] So look at Colossians 2 and verse 8, he says, beware lest anyone cheat you, rob you, spoil you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ.

[28:25] In other words, what are some of the philosophies as far as the ideologies, as far as we're talking, I mean, Pastor Rambick already mentioned some of them, as far as evolutionary naturalism, post-modernism is a big one, moral relativism, and these types of things, or this empty deceit, and once again, it's all consistent with just outright lies, and it's like, you know, it's even in the church, dear ones.

[28:48] You listen to some modern worship music and you get this idea that I'm just such an awesome guy, I'm just such a wonderful person, Jesus came here to give me my best life now because he wants me happy, healthy, and wealthy, this type of thing.

[29:04] It's like, what in the world? That's not biblical Christianity. And so when we're traveling around the southern island of Mindanao in the Philippines, and listen, when, I mean, I'm pulling my family picture out, I'm telling, you know, I have a beautiful picture of my wife and I there, I mean, you know, she's beautiful, you know, I'm not, you get the point, and so it's like, well listen, it's very easy to, you know, just to get kind of like, hey, you know, we're the big deal, we're the big deal, yeah, because even like when I'm handing out my business card, you know, to different ones and everything, and it's like Willy Wonka's golden ticket, you know, like wow, wow, and it's very easy for us to get an inflated idea of ourselves and that we're the center of the universe, we're the hero, we're not the hero, we're depraved, vile, wicked sinners in the sight of a holy God, he's at the center of the story, we're not, and his glory is magnified through the salvation of rebel sinners like you and I who are guilty of treason and sedition and so, empty deceit but also look at this, according to the tradition of men, things like this idea, basically people call it, you know, one sociologist called it the moralistic therapeutic deism, you know, basically, oh,

[30:16] God's really not involved in your life but he just wants you to be good because he is love and good people go to heaven when they die and just live by it by the golden rule and, you know, this type of thing and just all kinds of just pseudo-Christian gobbledygook or look at it also says at the end of the verse and it says basic principles of the world, I describe this as baseline cultural narratives, in other words, love is love, what is love for crying out, we're getting to there in verse 14 but all of this right here is not according to Christ and that's why God calls us to take every thought captive to obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore demolish strongholds and be spiritually vigilant in the family and that's as far as okay, as far as our media consumption and as far as education of the next generation in the spirit of Deuteronomy 6 Psalm 78 and these types of things vigilance in the church as far as the spiritual oversight of the elders, men responsible for guarding the flock and ensuring sound doctrine is proclaimed, the doctrinal integrity because God has ordained the church to be the pillar and ground of the truth and that's why things commission we plant grace gospel churches on our fields because missionaries go home and that way the gospel is so embedded into the community it will be there when we're gone and what the Lord has done over the years in the Philippines and we're praying he does it again in Indonesia and we're praying for reformation, revival, and revitalization here in America dear ones as so far as the vigilance in the community is concerned as far as what you're doing in the county fair in these things reaching out with the gospel but look in our text here he says stand fast in the faith virtue number two tenacity versus fickleness basically tenacity spiritual tenacity is very different than just kind of this quasi-spiritual just milk toast cream puff fatty you know wussy like just just let's just be nice that's the eleventh commandment be nice you know these types of things it's like wait a second what does the word of God say turn over to first Corinthians chapter nine

[32:35] I've referenced this already right here in the same book keep a finger there in chapter sixteen now in first Corinthians chapter nine right at the end here and this once again we get in some of the athletic terminology and yes yes indeed you know I'm hard on youth sports and everything but listen yes enjoy the good things of life enjoy hobbies some hobbies are more redemptive than others you know I get it and that's one of the many reasons why we encourage young people especially to put the stupid video games and the social media down and actually learn how to play instruments and learn how to communicate and do something work with your hands as young men and these types of things and so yes sacrifice good things for that which is better than those things that the world has fallen all over themselves to give their souls to but look at this right in first Corinthians chapter nine he says do you not know that those who run in a race all run but run one receives the prize not everybody gets a trophy all right

[33:36] I think many many of us grew up that way all right not everybody gets a consolation prize or a goodie bag that's life oftentimes most times is not fair all right and that's where you put on your big boy pants and stand up and by the grace of God you move forward and as you know one of the biggest challenges of life is that when you feel like you struck out baseball analogy when you feel like you struck out maybe you whiffed looking even that's a backwards K and oh and maybe it was a clutch situation and but then one of the biggest challenges of life is the next time that you have the opportunity to step up to the bat up to the plate and what do you do it's man your knees are knocking and everything and just maybe you're choked up on the bat and everything but I share this with you because one of the biggest challenges of life is how we recover from a situation which we fell perhaps flat on our face and that's why that's where every day of our lives we need to be living in total dependency upon

[34:45] God for his mercy and his grace for our every need because everything that God calls us to do as men or as women but especially as men this Father's Day everything that God calls us to do he gives us the grace in Christ Jesus to do it it is not our power it's his power Galatians 2 20 not I but Christ but look at this right here he says in verse 25 and everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things self-controlled dear ones disciplined God calls listen biblical Christianity is not a religion I'll just use the term religion of mediocrity in other words oh we're under grace it's okay you know sloppiness these types of things and it's like listen our faith is one of excellence to the praise of God's glory and listen you look at high profile athletes they are all in if they're going to be anything in their professional field it demands their life dear ones and incidentally that's what the apostle Paul said he says for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain

[36:03] Christ is our life he's not a part of our life we're to present our bodies unto him as a living sacrifice dear ones and look at this it goes on in the text he says they do it for a perishable crime but we for an imperishable we don't live for the praise and the accolades of men in this life we live to the praise of God's glory in eternity so that our lives will echo at that day forever and ever and ever not for the self-aggrandizement of man but for the glory of our great God and Savior hallelujah and look what it says in verse 26 he says therefore I run thus not with uncertainty in other words when you when you see a guy you know those guys running the 100 meter dash they're not running this way that way man there is a prescribed track to run on and you go and that's what scripture says I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and those tracks that we run on are laid out in the word of God dear ones he says not with uncertainty thus I fight and he's talking about okay as far as boxing fighting he says not as one who beats the air and he says

[37:10] I don't do this willy nilly shooting from the hip as it were but listen I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when I preach to others I myself should become disqualified in other words at that day the judgment seat of Christ lest it be a day of loss may the testimony of our lives resound for his glory at that day so therefore tenacity in the family fighting for your family and listen and tenacity in the church and listen the word of God very clearly teaches that the church and the home are to be co-champions of the next generation not in competition and fortunately listen I'm reminded of the late Dr. Howard Hendricks in his book Teaching to Change Lives as well as Heaven Help the Home particularly he tells the story in there he was a long time professor at Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas and he tells the story he was at a church and the pastor put the bulletin in his face he said look at that Hendricks something going on every night of the week and he says you proud of that?

[38:14] you happy about that? I wouldn't be he says what night of the week do you expect a man to prioritize his family life he wants to get serious about stepping up as a man husband and father it's like hello so the point being is that the church and family are not to be in competition with one another don't try this home we're the trained professionals you know the whole banned book situation oh you parents you're stupid idiots you know you butt out and you know all about that there's no such thing as banned books it's just actively involved parents that are just saying hey blowing the whistle and this is the situation and often times the church can even be complicit in these types of ideas and just like oh don't try this at home you just send them to us you keep you keep the parking lot packed and everything because you're the paying customers we need to keep you happy and all these types of things and listen I understand many churches need to do the best they can as far as meeting people where they're at and everything but the challenge is is practically equipping especially men husbands and fathers to lead provide and protect on the grassroots level and so they give it the long game as far as okay raising up the new generation of young men and young ladies they're going to take personal ownership what they believe and why they believe it and so tenacity they'll be co-champions of the next generation equipping the home and enriching the church and therefore that tenacity to be demonstrated in the community just show up in the community and open up your mouth and speak of your faith in Christ whether you're doing it at the county fair or wherever you're at you know I mean listen you know gospel tracks like Pastor Rambeck said

[39:42] I love gospel tracks and you know listen gospel tracks really we need to be reminded that the power the gospel is not in the the wittiness of our methods or in the winsomeness of our personality and that's coming from a guy whose first thing I ever said to my wife was congratulations you're the first girl to introduce yourself to me in college you know we're in college you know meeting people but listen yeah the Lord works through our personality and temperament but the power is not in the winsomeness hey I'm a nice guy you know listen you know but yes we use witty methods but the power is not in the methods the power is in the message you know because for example how's that for a gospel track bam will that be enough dad you know here's a little something for you I mean I got million dollar bill gospel tracks I got smiley I mean just these types of things we can have fun with that but the heart of it is there's tenacity in the community is because the power this we have this treasure an earthen vessel that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us and look at it going on in the text it says be brave

[40:43] KJV renders this quit you like men this is virtue number three manliness versus cowardice or effeminate passivity it's quit you the Greek word is endrisomai it means be a man act like men and so so listen ladies like in the scripture when the Bible says wives submit yourselves to your husbands as unto the Lord is that written to your kids no it's yeah in general because it's God's word is it written to your husbands no it says wives same thing when it says children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right so when the scripture says act like men that's not written to the women what is a woman by the way I mean when you hear some a very professional woman and listen I pray that you pray for civil magistrates as ungodly as many of them are and hence you know pray you know first simbity two one through seven praying that their hearts would be broken in awe and awestruck humility before the sovereign majesty of the one who appointed them and before whom they are accountable when a woman like that says something absolutely intellectually dishonest like that

[41:56] I pray that you ladies find that that's offensive and cause listen follow me on this like I think it was a group of Harvard doctors said even transgender women still have a prostate you know you follow on that and it's just like yeah science is real people and I'm talking about real science not just hocus pocus magic wand billions of years and these types of things but point being when the scripture says right here it says quit you like men the challenge the virtue there is manliness in other words courageously initiating decisive action and stewardship responsibility now I believe it was what Roger that was teaching Sunday school right Ron and so in 1 Kings chapter 2 in fact turn back there turn back there real quick in 1 Kings chapter 2 we were going through the end of David's life 1 Kings chapter 2 David on his deathbed his parting words to Solomon yes

[43:00] David was a piece of work and everything and just he was a mixed bag and everything but listen one of the things that he said there is parting words his last breath as it were to his son includes this exhortation to man up as we would say nowadays 1 Kings chapter 2 in verse 2 he says I go the way of all the earth in other words I'm going to die he says be strong therefore and prove yourself show yourself a man not a woman not a boy like it's been said boys make excuses men take responsibility which one are you and listen what is needed and we see this throughout history whenever God is going to do something awesome almost invariably he raises up a man with resolute biblical conviction with a heart fire zeal and passion for the glory of God and biblical truth what say you gentlemen that's what we need for such a time as this and so that manliness to be demonstrated in the family is in deliberate spiritual leadership it's what the saints of old would call among many other things would call family worship and of course the spiritual discipline as far as morning and evening daily and weekly rhythms and everything as far as leading providing and protecting our families but also manliness in the church show up at church and sing bring your bibles for crying out loud and open your bibles and sing and pray and engage people in conversation and watch this but also not only manliness in the church manliness in the community because listen here's a question for you what does

[44:48] Nazi Germany and Lord of the Rings have in common and the word of God and I'll connect the dots for you Nazi Germany and Lord of the Rings it's like this Eric Metaxas in his book Letter to the American Church is drawn from his research of his biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer one of the leaders of the resistance movement in Germany during the second world war and not all Germans were Nazis and what he talks about is that how so many of the church in Nazi Germany were just saying oh you stay out of it that's not our lane you don't you you basically they had the Jesus box they had the they had the Jesus box the spiritual stuff that you can talk about in church but not none of this other stuff there pastor you're getting to you know fill in the blank you know the word and but listen last time I checked the word of God speaks to everything in life including marriage family life and religious liberty so far as the jurisdictional authority family church and state is concerned and so what

[45:59] Eric Metaxas talks about is that the church the modern day America has striking resemblance to the church in 1930s Nazi Germany for many of which was oh we're gonna stay out of it but it's I'm reminded of what the little hobbits in Lord of the Rings when they were talking with these walking tree like guys called the Ents and they and the Ents wanted to stay out of it you know they didn't want to get involved in this battle and everything and at least famously in my mind one of these little hobbits said but you're part of this world you're part of this world and therefore you have a responsibility to do something and yes because we live in this country we have freedom and liberty to do things that Apostle Paul did not in his day and hence manliness in the church I'm reminded what Crawford Loretts says this he says

[46:59] I'm fearful that we're living in a culture that has been vaccinated with passivity especially men and we're seeing the wholesale rape of courage in our generation I mean you I mean listen drag queen story hour this type of things you name I'm thankful that there are men that are pressing in and hey you know I'm gonna read a God fearing book to children in my public library and I'm gonna own my backyard I'm going to normalize not perversion I'm gonna normalize the Lord Jesus Christ understanding this my responsibility lead provide and protect and therefore say hey I'm going to step up as God's man at the helm of my home but look at this right here in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 goes on he says be strong we're talking about fortitude fortitude in the family in the church and in the community and listen in the armor of God section it says be strong in the Lord and the power of his might dear ones listen spiritual muscle is desperately needed in our day and listen that gets into hey building cultivating our spiritual life and listen I pray that every one of us yes self admittedly my spiritual disciplines are all out of whack right now I was just in the

[48:15] Philippines I'm like go almost three weeks behind in my daily Bible reading and I finished reading you know through the whole word of God by July 1st is the target goal middle of the year and so but listen I share that with you as a confession and understanding and empathizing listen in a workaday world I get it it can be a challenge but every one of us need to prioritize reading through the entirety of the word of God there was I'm preaching on Joel Amos and Zephaniah this week when else are you going to read those books in the minor prophets otherwise otherwise and listen I'm there's all hosts of avenues to build spiritual muscles as far as disciplines and prayer journaling and these types of things and listen and a big part of it is leading your family and family worship in and listen even the Wall Street Journal was talking about the importance of children having meals together with their family at home Wall Street Journal they're devoted to financial markets and everything even social science is bearing witness to these things and even was the the surgeon general recently came out with a report about the the dangers of social media upon young people and girls particularly at the CDC had mentioned and everything so in all those fortitude in the family and the church and in the community and yes indeed look at verse 14 as we land the plane here it says let all that you do be done with love that's the virtue of sacrifice sacrifice versus selfishness selfishness and listen turn over to 2nd Corinthians 5 as we as we land here love is sacrificial action it's agape love love is not some sensual random uncontrollable overwhelming force that

[50:12] Votie Bauckham describes that comes and goes on a whim oh we fell out of love love is love be love love more this type of thing that's just code language for woke neo-Marxist nonsense and dear ones love is action love is sacrifice and that begins yes indeed in the heart of God because look at what God did 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 14 it says this it says in 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 14 for the love of Christ compels us drives us motivates us because we judge thus that if one died for all then all died all were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and the living God came here to rescue redeem and reconcile ungodly sinners unto himself by walking the valley of the shadow of death and unlike the psalmist who could say when I walk that pathway I will fear no evil unlike the psalmist our Savior could not say I will fear no evil because you are with me because at the cross our Savior was he had already been betrayed by a friend denied by a close associate and he was most importantly he was forsaken by the Father my God my God why have you forsaken me because at 3 hours of darkness on the cross

[51:28] God the Father turned the lights out as it were and he exploded his undiluted wrath and judgment upon God the Son when he became sin for us and died for our sins in our place that's what scholars called the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement dear ones and so he took the hit that we deserve and he said it is finished paid in full hallelujah amen that's the love of God in Christ Jesus and when his love fills our hearts it is to be demonstrated through our lives through our actions and our attitudes easy preaching hard living dear ones and that sacrifice in the family that's dead serious urgency dear ones especially on Father's Day as we understand it it's our responsibility to lead provide and protect and listen did you know that Marxism and other ungodly ideas they are deliberately their agenda what they're about is deliberately destroying biblical family life and particularly marriage and motherhood

[52:42] I'll just say this this is counter cultural what Marxists want to do is they want to I'll just say Rosie the Riveter is their their big gun just do the research I would encourage you to check out Dr. Erwin Lutzer's stuff Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church some of his stuff he's written recently We Cannot Be Silenced as well as No Reason to Hide very good stuff dear ones but listen by way of contrast I'll just say it positively everywhere in the word of God the Bible puts a very high premium upon what it means to be a woman and therefore to be a wife and a mother and indeed it's not good for a man to be alone and listen I pray that as the Lord does a work in our hearts guys that the Lord uses us to you know the old fashioned virtue like the men of the Titanic women and children first to fight for our families to fight for women defend women stand up for them because the culture of manliness in the church incidentally it upholds the dignity and the nobility and the glory of being a woman a wife and a mother and also sacrifice in the church like I said and in the community normalizing the Lord

[53:59] Jesus Christ and let me leave you with this it's not enough for a sacred zeal that we ourselves know the Lord Joe Beek and James LaBelle right in living zealously it's also imperative that nations all nations and peoples hear of him as he has preached in the gospel those who are lost must hear that there is salvation in Christ our zeal to promote God's glory by making him known in the world will manifest itself in various ways it will make us pity the condition of the lost it will make us lament their slavery to sin we will be driven to our knees praying that they may be brought to know the only true God and his son Jesus Christ and we will be compelled to do all we can for the lost striving to win those who are near and supporting efforts to win those which are far believing it to be the highest service we can ever do for our Lord and his glory but some people fear becoming more zealous they say because what will they think it might cost them friends in the world they think that that might be labeled as overly religious or too different from others they fear people's opinions more than

[55:03] God's the 17th century English Puritan Samuel Ward said cowr I love this if I had a Scottish accent or English accent I would don that right now but I can't I'll try never mind I won't cowards and craven stand and look who goes first but soldiers of courage cast lots for the onset and fore rank for desperate service and single combats I love that lukewarmness stands back and waits for another to take the hill to see whether the reward is worth the fight the crown worth the gloss of blood and the blessing worth the cost true zeal does not wait does not ask what others think who will make the sacrifice and whether others will join in it does not wait for company when duty calls instead it rises up at the clarion call and runs with haste to the captain of the Lord of hosts saying with Isaiah here am I send me gentlemen I pray this in encouragement this Father's Day as we endeavor to by the grace of God to recover these lost virtues of Christian zeal for the glory of almighty God and so that next year or ten years from now our lives will be much different than they are today as we endeavor to put feet to our faith and by the grace of God

[56:16] Lord give me wisdom vision and courage to be your man at the helm of my family for such a time as this glory to your name oh God thank you indeed for the power of your word and Lord thank you for the miracle of life and breath and for the gift of life eternal and Lord we do pray for reformation revival and revitalization and may it begin here and now with each of us oh God and use us to be faithful surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ raising the banner of the living God and Lord thank you that wherever your mighty hand and outstretched arm leads guys and directs you are faithful Lord and you arrive on scene first use us Lord as we endeavor by your grace to recover these lost virtues of Christian zeal hallelujah in Christ Jesus amen거야 Iouver